Guard Your Heart
by VictoryInTrouble
Summary: A young Eric meets a young Sookie one summer and sparks fly. But what happens if they hate each other as much as they are drawn together? AH/AU rated M for language and lemons. Two chapters.
1. Chapter 1

**This is what came to me on my vacation. I'm sure you can guess where I was. Unfortunately, I didn't see any young Eric Northman types. This is all Eric's pov. Enjoy!**

The summer before I turned twenty was one of the best summers of my life. Certainly one of the most intense. I was a lifeguard that summer, just like I had been for the previous two summers. But that summer, when I had just finished my sophomore year at NYU, was the summer I met the girl who would prove to be the biggest challenge to my self-control that I had ever encountered in my relatively easy and carefree life.

She was a city girl, only in my small beach town because her family was. She got herself certified as a lifeguard because she was bored, she said. As if the job was beneath her but she could lower herself to do it only as a small diversion. She would rather be in the Hamptons, she said often enough. Our small town was laughable and there was nothing to do.

"Nothing but have sex," I told her one morning, just to make her react. It was about a week after we met. A June day that was so hot by nine AM that I knew we would be roasting by noon. She just looked at me, her mouth turned down in disgust, her eyes roaming over my body. Then she turned on her heel and walked quickly to her lifeguard stand, ignoring me for the rest of the morning.

Whatever. She didn't know what she was missing. I was a catch, according to the girls who hung around my lifeguard tower day after day trying to draw my eye. Their skimpy bikinis barely covered their bodies and they would talk loudly and scandalously about their sex lives or the parties they were going to. Whatever to them too. Easy girls were not my idea of fun—I liked a challenge.

Sookie was certainly that. A beautiful girl—blonde hair the same color as mine, blue eyes a shade darker. Hers were sapphires and mine were blue like the ocean on a clear day. When she first met me, she asked if I thought I was a surfer because of my shoulder length hair. If I _thought_ I was. As if I was an idiot. I told her that I do surf but not to let my looks deceive her. She scoffed and rolled her eyes. I got hard.

But her mouth. Her goddamn mouth made me want to slap her more often than it made me want to kiss her. She always had something disparaging to say about the town or the beach or the people. People I had grown up my whole life with. People who were like family to me. Yup, she would have been perfect if I could have duct taped her mouth closed.

I watched her that morning after she walked away. Sitting up on her lifeguard chair, staring out at the water. She took her job seriously, which is about the only good thing I could say about her besides that she was beautiful. She was an excellent lifeguard. I watched her up there, fanning herself, red faced and sweating. She could have come sat with me. My tower was made for two people and had a roof for shade. But she decided on her first day that she was going to sit by herself, in her tiny tower like the princess she was.

I don't know what it said about me that I felt bad for her. Maybe I was soft, maybe I was blinded by her curvy body and her perfect breasts. Whatever it was, when I saw her pull her swimsuit out and discretely blow on those perfect breasts, first I groaned and then I jumped down from my seat and walked over to invite her to sit with me. It wasn't the first time, but I was hoping that this time she might just take me up on my offer.

"Hey, Sookie," I said, squinting up at her. "I have shade."

She looked down at me, her hand over her eyes to shade them. "Good for you," she said sourly.

God, she was infuriating. There I was, trying to be nice and she wanted to be a bitch. I took a deep breath and then tilted my head back to smile at her beautiful bitchy face. "There's room for both of us, Sookie. It's hot."

"No shit, Sherlock. I'm fine."

What the fuck? Fine. If she wanted to be like that, I would let her melt in the sweltering heat of noon. "Suit yourself. Enjoy blowing on those gorgeous tits of yours. I would offer to help you out, but I'm sure I'd just make you hotter." I smirked. Yeah, that was a dickish thing to say but she was so fucking rude. I just wanted to get some type of reaction out of her.

She crossed her arms and glared at me before rolling those beautiful eyes. I smiled my most dazzling smile and sauntered back to my tower without a backward glance.

The rest of the day passed the same as the morning. We ignored each other and did our jobs, looking out over the sea of people enjoying the sea of waves. Occasionally I had to blow my whistle to shoo some kids away from the rocks or make some people move along out of the way of my view. Every time I blew my whistle, Sookie jumped. By the end of the day, I was blowing it for every tiny infraction I could find. I liked startling her and she soon figured that out. Every time my whistle blew, she turned and stared daggers at me for a second. I grinned at her each and every time and enjoyed her huff of annoyance. She was really fun to bother.

A week went by in the same manner. I annoyed her, she hated me. She looked bored as a general rule. Bored through staff meetings, bored through her lunch break, bored when our boss took everyone out for ice cream at the local stand. She was not charmed by any aspect of small town life. She made friends with a couple of the girls who thought that she was the best thing our little town had ever seen. Whatever. She was a snob, the worst kind of snob—a beautiful one. An alluring one who drew you in but never failed to shut you out. The first failure of my self control was not being able to leave her alone.

The following Monday, she got to work before me. When I walked to my station, there she was, sitting at my tower. I stopped and stared at her, smiling.

"Shut up," she snapped.

"I didn't say anything," I answered, smirking.

"It's hot."

"No shit, Sherlock," I said and for a second a smile flickered across her face. But it was gone before I could really make sure it wasn't just my imagination putting it there. I climbed up and sat next to her. She smelled heavenly. Coconut sunscreen and some type of fruity shampoo invaded my senses until I could barely concentrate on my job.

She held her body rigidly but every once in a while she would relax and her leg would touch mine. It always sent a shock through my body but she quickly straightened up without even a glance at me.

"I'm a nice guy," I said to her when the silence got to me. I had made it about an hour, and in that hour her leg had touched mine three times. I was not going to be able to take it for much longer. The torture of sitting next to her, not touching and not talking. It was driving me insane.

She didn't answer me. She just crossed her legs and her arms and continued to stare straight ahead.

I looked over at her. I wasn't used to being treated like that. Girls usually flirted with me and sometimes even outright propositioned me. If I wanted, I could be having sex every weekend with a different eager girl. I wasn't, though. Not that Sookie ever noticed that I ignored the overzealous girls who camped out near my lifeguard tower or thwarted the advances of the other female lifeguards who wanted to get in my pants. I wasn't interested in easy and desperate. That didn't mean I wanted bitchy and bored, either. I didn't mind waiting for the right girl to come along. My looks gave me a reputation but anybody who really knew me, knew it was all a bunch of shit. I was a nice guy. Not that Sookie would ever take the time to find out.

"Fine," I said softly and she glanced at me, making brief eye contact. I sucked in breath when her eyes found mine but she turned away quickly and ignored me for the rest of the morning.

When lunch time came, we went to eat separately while another lifeguard named Sammy took our places in turn. He sat down next to me with a huge grin.

"She's so damn hot," he said. "You fucking her yet?"

See, that's what I meant about my reputation. Sookie had been there for two weeks and he already assumed I was sleeping with her. "No man. She doesn't even talk to me," I said.

"Yeah. She's kind of a snob. You know what they say about those rich girls."

"No?"

"Well, that they're snobs," he said stupidly.

"She doesn't seem to like our town or any of us, that's for sure," I said. I was actually kind of uncomfortable with Sammy talking shit about her. I felt almost protective of her for some strange reason.

"I'm sure you'll tap that by the end of the summer," he said, grinning.

I shrugged. I wasn't going to waste my time on her if she was hell bent on hating everyone from the town, including me.

When Sookie got back from lunch, we again sat together in silence until I just couldn't take it anymore.

"Are you ever going to talk to me?" I said, looking straight ahead. "Do you even know my name?"

"Eric," she said, looking out at the water like I was.

"Yeah, and I promise you I'm a good guy. Why don't you give me a chance?"

"Look, Eric," she said, turning her face slightly toward me. I looked back at her. "Do you want me to fuck you? Is that what would shut you up?"

My mouth dropped open and I stared at her, completely ignoring my duties to the swimmers on the beach. "What?" That was all I could think of to say.

"Will you, leave me alone, if I fuck you?" she said slowly, like I was too stupid to otherwise comprehend.

I must have stared at her blankly for quite a while. She smirked and returned to her lifeguard responsibilities without another look at me. My mouth opened and closed a couple times trying to think of something to say. Finally I recovered.

"What the fuck is wrong with you? I wanted to be friends with you. I'm certainly not going to fuck someone so they can be rid of me. You have problems." Maybe I was harsh but she pissed me off.

Her head snapped around in my direction. "You _are_ Eric Northman, right? You just want to be friends? That's a laugh. Maybe I should ask one of the many beach bunnies vying for your attention day after day if that's the same line you gave them."

"Fuck you," I spat. "You know jack shit about me because you never bothered to get to know me. Which I'm glad of now. You're just a snobby rich girl who thinks this town and everyone in it are beneath you and all your fucking money."

"Fuck you!" she echoed.

That was exactly why I didn't bother to talk to her after that. We sat together day after day, not talking, not even looking at each other. It was awkward. It was ridiculously awkward but apparently she was just as stubborn as me. Neither one of us was going to make the first move to reconcile. Whatever. I didn't need her. This was my hometown. I had plenty of friends. That's what I told myself every evening when the lifeguards went home. But every morning when I was assaulted with blonde hair and sapphire eyes, coconuts and fruity shampoo, I wished that she would just at least talk to me. It seemed like the more she hated me, the more I wanted her.

Thursday afternoon, a couple weeks later was when it happened. Not because she finally saw my charm or warmed her icy facade long enough to try and be my friend. No. It was because a boy almost died. It took an almost death for her to drop her guard long enough to let me in.

A record breaking heat brought the throngs of people to the beach that day. It was crowded—both the water and the sand. Sookie and I had to constantly move people away from the front of our lifeguard stand because it was one of the only clear spots of sand left. But we needed to be able to see the water around us and to be able to act quickly in case of an emergency.

It was Sookie who spotted him. A boy—a small brown haired boy no older then five was bobbing silently in the water, out much further than he would be able to stand. He made no wild movements, no yelling or screaming, he just silently bobbed, his eyes wide with terror. She pointed him out and I looked with my binoculars to confirm. He was in trouble.

By the time we got to him, his head had slipped under the water a few times. The last time, it stayed down and his body started to float, his face in the water. Sookie quickly pulled him up and laid him on my rescue board. By that time, a woman who I assumed was his mom started screaming on the shore. We brought the boy quickly to her side but he was unconscious. He wasn't breathing. Sookie started CPR while I radioed in to call 911. By the time the paramedics got there, the boy was breathing but still unconscious and Sookie was sitting by his side, shaking. Adrenaline can do that to a person but this was different. She was shell shocked. Your first tense rescue can cause that. It had happened to me my first summer when I pulled an elderly woman out of the waves after she had hit her head on something. It was scary as hell and left you shaken for days, sometimes weeks.

When the paramedics left the beach with the boy, who had woken up and was going to be fine, I sat down next to Sookie. She hadn't moved from the spot on the sand where we had put the boy. She looked up at me, tears streaming down her face and my stomach lurched. I felt protective of her even though she still despised me and I didn't want to see her so upset. I put my arm around her, bracing for her harsh words. None came. She sighed and leaned into me.

"You did well," I said to soothe her. "You saved him."

She sniffed but didn't respond. Two more lifeguards came over, including my boss and he told me to make sure Sookie got home alright and to take the rest of the day off.

We both had cars but she let me lead her to my car after we got dressed in the locker room.

"I'm going to take you home, Sookie. Okay?" I asked. She still hadn't said a word to me. I was worried.

I knew where she lived and it wasn't far. When we pulled up to the house that her family rented for the summer, she just sat in the car after I turned off the engine. I sat too. I didn't know what to say.

"Will you come in?" she said, turning to me. "No one's home and I don't want to be alone."

"Sure," I said, surprised. We walked into her house and I just stood awkwardly by the entrance, unsure of where to go. It wasn't as if she actually liked me or we were actual friends. I had no idea what to do.

"Sit down," she said, gesturing to the couch. She went into the kitchen and came back with two beers. I looked up at her in surprise. "I figure we could use a drink." She smiled, the first genuine smile I had seen on her face. She was beautiful. I stared until she cleared her throat and then I looked down to see her hand out with the beer. Oh.

"Thank you. Your parents won't care?"

"I'm 21," she said. "How old are you?"

"I'm 19, but my parents won't care."

She laughed. "I'm not going to tell them. Just don't get drunk. I figure one beer won't do anything for you. You're kind of a giant."

We sat in silence after that. But it wasn't the same silence that had plagued my days in the weeks previous. It was a comfortable silence. We drank our beers and when they were gone, she got up to get two more.

"Sookie, do you want to talk about what happened today?" I asked gently.

"No. Why do you think I'm drinking?" She popped the tops on the bottles and handed me another one. She was right about one beer not affecting me. Even two did nothing for me. It took three for me to get a buzz on and many more to get me drunk. But Sookie was literally half my size and I worried about her drinking so fast especially after being out in the hot sun all day.

"I think you should slow down," I said. "At least drink some water."

"Don't tell me what to do. I'm older than you, remember?" she said and I couldn't tell if she was kidding so I looked blankly at her until she grinned. She kept chugging her beer, though. Then all of a sudden she was in my lap with her tongue in my mouth.

My body responded to hers and I kissed her back but I was totally surprised. Of course, I got hard. She was sitting on me, stroking my neck with the fingers of one hand and tugging my hair with the other. I got with the program once I stopped being so shocked. I pulled her body to mine and groaned as she sucked hard on my lip.

She was everything I liked in a girl—a little aggressive but easy to lead. She let me guide her head to deepen the kiss and my tongue begged entrance into her mouth. She opened her mouth to me and I groaned when I felt her hot tongue dancing with mine. She reached down between our bodies to stroke my cock and I hissed and pushed myself against her hand.

But I wasn't really sure we should be doing this. Especially when she was shaken up about what happened at the beach and she had been drinking. I think Sookie could sense that I was pulling away from her, ready to push her off of me to slow things down. That was my second failure in self-control—not stopping when I had the chance.

"Please," she whispered into my mouth. How could I deny her? When I started kissing her again, she started grinding herself onto my cock, causing both of us to moan. My body was invaded with her amazing smell—her sweet coconut skin and fruity hair, and a new scent. Desire made her already fragrant skin ten times more attractive.

We had just gotten a good rhythm going with our hips, when she slid to the floor and yanked my shorts down. She had my cock in her mouth before I even realized what she was doing.

"Fuck," I breathed as she slid me down her throat. Her mouth felt so good and her hand on my balls was fantastic. "You have to stop," I panted. "I'm gonna cum."

"You've done this before, right?" she asked, lifting her head from me.

"Yes." I wasn't sure if she meant sex or a one time thing with a girl. My answer was the same anyway.

"Good," she said, standing up. She quickly shed her sundress and panties and climbed back onto my lap. My mouth went immediately to her breasts. They were salty from her brief swim in the ocean. I licked her nipple until it pebbled and then did the same to the other one. She moaned and fisted her fingers in my hair. She was stroking my cock firmly and then she lifted her hips and I slid inside her as she lowered herself onto my lap. My breath came out in a shuddering moan and I grabbed her face and brought my forehead down to hers.

"Fuck, you feel good," I whispered. "So fucking good."

She crushed her mouth to mine and started to roll her hips onto me. The sex was quick and dirty. She licked my neck and my mouth. She ground herself onto me hard and fast. She arched her back, throwing back her head and moaning loudly. Her curves were driving me crazy and I ran my hands over every part of her that I could reach. The rhythm of her hips had me panting.

"Cum," she ordered.

"Did you?" I said. I didn't think she did but I didn't know why she would tell me to if she hadn't already.

"Doesn't matter. Just cum," she panted.

"No. You first." She looked at me in surprise, though I didn't see why.

I pulled her face towards mine and dropped my other hand down to her ass. I stroked my fingers against her rear entrance and she didn't stop me, in fact she moaned into my mouth, so I knew she liked it. I kept stroking as I thrust up into her. We were both sweaty, both moaning and writhing.

"Cum," I ordered this time. "Cum for me, Sookie."

"Eric," she moaned. Her pussy clenched around me, fluttering. As her orgasm rolled through her, mine was following close behind.

"Sookie, do you want me to pull out? I'm gonna cum," I panted. If she didn't ask me to wear a condom, I figured she was on something but I wasn't sure where she wanted me.

"Cum inside me," she breathed, panting from her orgasm.

"Fuck," I groaned, thrusting up hard and shooting deep inside her. It was stupid, considering how little I knew about her but I wasn't thinking with the head on my shoulders. I was thinking with my cock, and it wanted to stay where it was.

As soon as I came, she was up off my lap, pulling on her clothes. I was still gasping for breath, my head thrown back against the couch.

"Thanks. You can go," she said.

I picked up my head and stared at her. "I can go? What the hell?"

"What do you want? I fucked you. Now we're done and you can leave."

She was looking at me with such disdain, like I was a fucking idiot.

"What the fuck is your problem?" I yelled, standing to pull on my shorts.

"Oh, get the fuck over yourself, Eric!" she yelled at me. "You fuck anything in a skirt—or a bikini. You're going to get mad because I fucked you and now I want you to leave?"

"Get the fuck over _your_self!" I yelled back. "You know absolutely nothing about me. Have you seen me fuck anybody? Have you seen me pay those bikini bimbos any attention? Fuck you, Sookie. You're such a bitch."

I threw on my shirt and walked out of her house. She didn't follow. In fact, she didn't even watch me leave. She turned and went upstairs before I even got to her door. Fuck her!

I had never been used for sex before and then just tossed out like trash. I was unbelievably angry about it. Even when I had a one night stand, I still stayed for as long as the girl wanted me to. And I never kicked anyone out of my bed. I had never experienced anything like that. I usually had girls I didn't want fawning all over me. I never wanted a girl who wanted nothing to do with me, or nothing but easy sex. It was disconcerting and that was why the next time I saw Sookie, I didn't know what to do.

The next day, Sookie was back on her own lifeguard stand. I should have figured that would happen but I was surprised and disappointed not to be near her. And frankly, I was surprised by my disappointment since she was nothing but a bitch to me. I'd like to think I was mature about the whole thing. I'd like to think I handled things well. But, in truth, I did not. I was an ass to her whenever I got the chance. Which, considering that she sat twenty feet away from me day after day, was often. But she probably deserved it.

She seemed to hate me just as much and she glared at me from across the sand when I blew my whistle to annoy her. She crossed her arms, looking smug when I smiled at the girls who hung around my tower. They invited me to a party the following weekend and I told them I might come. I heard Sookie huff at that and I smirked.

So, we hated each other from afar but any time we got within five feet of each other, it was like a current buzzed to life between us. My shorts got tighter and my breath sped up. She made me crazy for her. I had visions of pushing her down into the sand or up against the wall. I wanted to be inside her again. I wanted to touch her again and feel her lips on mine. I know she was just as affected by my proximity but she did her best to ignore me.

It was about a week later that we happened to take our lunch break at the same time. We stood in line together at the grill and sat in awkward silence eating at the table in the lifeguard locker room. We made brief eye contact every once in a while but neither one of us spoke. We finished eating at the same time and stood up together. But instead of walking out she walked right up to me.

"What are you doing?" I asked, backing up slightly.

"Shut up," she said and then she grabbed my neck and pulled me forward to her mouth.

I growled and spun her around until her back was against the wall. I lifted her up and she wrapped her legs around me. I was hard almost instantly. My cock remembered her pussy and wanted back inside. And as much as I despised her, I wanted her just as strongly.

The time up against the wall in the locker room, when she lowered my swim trunks only enough to untuck me and pulled her swimsuit aside so I could push into her, was not the last time we fucked that summer or even that week. Every time we were alone together, we attacked each other. We had sex almost every day. Any time we had five minutes I had my cock in her. The locker room was a safe bet because only two guards could take a break at a time. If we didn't get lunch together we would fuck in her car after our shift. We didn't talk, didn't flirt, we just fucked. Her body did things to me that I didn't know were possible.

Every time after, when I was breathing fast and adjusting my clothes, I told myself that was the last time I would fuck her. But every time I saw that look in her eye, every time I smelled her intoxicating scent, I lost my mind and let my cock take over. The third failure of my self-control was not pushing Sookie away whenever she decided she wanted my cock. I couldn't say no to her. She held me in her thrall and I got hard for her whenever she wanted.

The best incident and the most dangerous, was in the bathroom at the ice cream parlor while the rest of the life guards sat eating. Nobody suspected we were fucking every chance we got because we otherwise didn't speak to or even look at each other. So when she went to the bathroom followed in three minutes by me, no one was the wiser. We didn't even have a signal for when we would hook up, a brief look and we both just knew.

She met me in the hallway and pulled me into the ladies' room. It was a single bathroom with a lock, so no one would walk in on us. She had my pants down before she even had the door locked.

"Sookie," I said, lifting her chin to look at her face.

"Shut up," she said, which was the only thing she ever said to me. She dropped to her knees to suck my cock and I groaned. She hadn't put her mouth on me since that first time in her house. She probably knew it would shut me up fast and she was right. I was no longer interested in discussing whatever this things was we were doing. I just wanted her to keep sucking my cock and licking the head like she was.

"Fuck, Sookie," I panted. When I felt like I would cum if she didn't stop, I reached down and lifted her up. I crushed her lips with mine and thrust my tongue into her mouth. Her arms went immediately around my neck and she jumped up, which is what she usually did. I caught her and turned us around to push her against the wall. She grabbed my cock to position me after she moved her panties to the side. She always either wore a little sundress or her swimsuit so there was always easy access. It was good because it was fast entry but I never got to see her body after that first day in her house. I missed her beautiful breasts and her curves. I longed to lay her down and take my time with her. But I took what I could get. I had no self-control when it came to her.

She held onto my neck and panted softly in my ear. When she started moaning, I knew she was close. I could time her orgasms down to the second by then. I knew every noise and every move that she would make. Our sex was predictable but it was so fucking good, I didn't care. I knew she would breathe faster and faster and moan louder the closer she got. I knew her fingernails would dig into my neck and her thighs would squeeze my waist. I knew she would bite my lip and then move her mouth and bite my shoulder through my shirt if I was wearing one. Then she would pull back and lock her eyes onto mine—that was my favorite part— right before she closed them and opened her mouth in a silent moan. I liked the way she did that. Like the pleasure was overwhelming and she couldn't make any noise at all at first. At that point, I would always cover her mouth with mine because she got loud when she finished. As she came down, she would clutch my body to hers and hold tightly to me—my second favorite part—as I rocked my hips into her to find my release. I always came silently, with one hand under her ass and one hand in her silky hair. She would squirm so I would put her down, set her clothes to rights and turn to walk away.

But that time in the ice cream parlor bathroom, she looked into my eyes after I came, and she brought her hand from around my neck to caress my face. She ran her fingers over my eyebrow, cheek, and jaw on one side and then leaned in to kiss me softly on my lips. Then she squirmed so I would put her down. I didn't though. Not right away. I hugged her, pressing myself into her and burying my face in her sweet smelling hair.

"Sookie," I whispered. "What is this?" I was hopeful that things might change and she would let me into her life and not just her body.

"Sex, Eric. That's it. Let me down," she said firmly.

I sighed and did what she wanted and she fixed her dress and waited impatiently for me to pull up my pants.

From then on, the sex was just as good but I felt like shit about it. I told myself I was acting like a girl. Sex without strings was every man's dream. I should have been ecstatic that I got to have mind blowing sex with a beautiful woman without having to do anything else. I should have been thanking my lucky stars. But instead I was getting more and more depressed. I still got hard when she wanted me to. I still gave her an orgasm whenever she wanted one. I took mine too. But I was not happy about our arrangement. I guess arrangement makes it sound like we had actually talked out this thing we were doing, when the opposite was true. We never talked. We communicated with looks and our bodies. I should have been happy with that. But I wasn't.

I wanted more.

I would gladly go without an orgasm for an hour of her time. I would deny myself sex with her for a conversation with her instead. That's how much I wanted her. Not just her body, but her. And I had never before felt like that about a girl. It was crazy and I felt pathetic. I was like her little lap dog. She said 'come' and I did, in every sense of the word. But the sex, her body—I was addicted. And like an addict, I would forego my own well-being for a fix, for a hit of Sookie. Ten minutes of euphoria in exchange for my pride and mental health. It had to stop. That's what I told myself whenever she wasn't there, but as soon as I saw her, as soon as she looked at me that way, I was powerless. My addiction, my Sookie, ruled me. She had my cock under her spell and I got hard if she even glanced at me.

By mid-August, things were not any better. In fact, they were worse. She plagued my dreams, I smelled her when she wasn't there. She still didn't talk to me and she never caressed me tenderly again. I couldn't take it anymore. One time after she pulled me into the locker room shower to have sex against the wall, I got bold.

"That's it, Sookie. That was the last time," I said, fixing my trunks. I was still breathing hard. I combed a hand through my hair to tame it.

She looked at me appraisingly, a smug smile on her lips. "No. I doubt it."

"I mean it. I can't keep doing this. I want more from you. I want more _of_ you."

"Don't be stupid. I'm never going to see you again after this summer. Two weeks, Eric. Just shut up and fuck me for two more weeks."

"_Why_, Sookie?" I asked, my eyes looking desperately into hers for some reassurance. Did she even like me? I didn't even know.

"You have the most beautiful cock I have ever seen, Eric."

I don't know why that pissed me off so much because it was a compliment, but it did. I was furious with her and I turned to leave the locker room before I did something I would regret. She followed quickly behind me and stopped me with a hand on my arm.

"Get off of me," I growled. She did, and she backed up. I looked at her face to see anger clearly written on it. What the fuck? I was supposed to be angry, not her.

"What do you want from me, Eric? Have you never heard of a summer fling?"

Once again she was looking at me like I was stupid. "A fucking summer fling? We spend ten minutes a day with my cock inside you and otherwise don't even speak! Fuck you, Sookie! I'm done!"

She grinned at me and I had a powerful urge to hit her but I would never. "Ooh, puppy's got some balls," she sneered.

"Fuck. You." I turned and walked away, intent on that being the last time I was ever near her again. I was breathing hard but not from pleasure. I was enraged, completely disgusted with myself and with her.

The next Monday she sat in my tower with me just to piss me off. Or to torture me. She let her leg graze mine and I had to sit squished over to the side so she wouldn't touch me. And I was already too big for my little seat so it wasn't comfortable at all. But if I had touched her, I would have thrown her to the ground and climbed on top of her.

"Why are you here?" I asked her when I couldn't take it anymore.

"Shade," she said with a smirk, looking out at the water.

I turned and stared at her until she looked at me. "Do your job," she said, rolling those sapphire eyes.

"I'm trying. Why don't you get the fuck out of here?"

"Two weeks, Eric. Then you'll never see me again."

"Good," I said and I meant it.

Two weeks passed without much trouble. After that first day Sookie didn't sit with me again. She left me alone for the most part. I was glad for that because I knew my willpower would have crumbled if she pursued me. At the end of the summer bonfire on the beach, she made sure she was sitting next to me. We were all drinking, despite being mostly underage but the boss didn't care. Sookie was buzzed and it made her talkative.

"Listen, Eric," she said. "I'm sorry if you didn't have fun this summer. I'm sorry I was a bitch to you. I am not this girl. I'm not...I'm not easy."

I rolled my eyes and scoffed. "And I'm not stupid, even though you think I am. You don't know anything about me because you never bothered to find out. And I certainly don't know anything about you."

"I'm sorry, Eric. You're right, I don't know you. That's my fault and I know you think I'm a bitch but I'm not."

"Well, I know you think I'm a manwhore with no feelings but I'm not. Seems like we both got each other wrong."

She looked at me then and it was like her facade melted away and I was looking at a completely different person. And what I saw underneath that hard exterior made my stomach tighten in sympathy. She was hurting.

"My cousin died in my arms in May," she said. Her eyes welled up and I could tell she was trying not to cry. I put my arms around her and she buried her face in my shirt.

"I'm sorry," I said, stroking her hair.

"We lived together," she said, her tears falling. "She OD'd and I tried to help her but I couldn't. I didn't know what to do. I couldn't face my empty apartment without her so I came here with my parents for the summer."

"I'm so sorry," I said again. I wasn't sure what else to say. Now it made sense why she wanted to be trained as a lifeguard and why that boy's near drowning upset her so much. I held her as she cried silently. That was really the first time I got to just be with her, just hold her like a boyfriend would. And it was, sadly, my last night to do so.

"Thank you," she said when she had cried herself out. She smiled. "You're sweet."

I smirked at her. "You could have figured that out three months ago if you wanted to."

"I'm so sorry," she said, caressing my face and down my arm. She took my hand and I squeezed hers. "I was so mean to you and you're such a sweetheart, Eric. I'm so sorry," she said again.

I brought our clasped hands to my mouth and kissed hers. "It's okay. I wasn't always sweet to you. Let's just enjoy tonight."

We spent the rest of the night laughing and kissing and having sex in her car. I lost track of how many times we came, gasping and moaning, our bodies locked together. We had two weeks of orgasms to make up for. I held her after, while she whispered tenderly to me, her cheek against my chest over my heart. I stroked her hair and kissed her face, memorizing her sweet scent.

We parted ways uneasily that night. She was leaving early the next morning and we decided not to keep in touch. We decided that the less we knew about each other the better. We fucked for a summer and were going to resume our normal lives after that. But my heart ached as she drove away.

I reluctantly packed for school a week later and took the train the many hours back to campus. I thought of Sookie the whole way back. When my friends asked about my summer I told them it was the best ever but when they asked why, I could only tell them that I met a girl. I didn't know anything about her, really. I could tell you how she moaned before she came and how tightly she grasped my neck when she kissed me but I had no details about her life. When I told my best friend at school, he high-fived me and grinned.

"Livin' the dream, dude," he said.

"Yeah," I said, smiling without happiness.

Classes started the next day. I trudged along to each one and sat in the back where I normally did. I went to bed that night and dreamed of Sookie. We were together—properly together. We had sex in a bed and she whispered to me and caressed me and lay next to me after we finished. I woke up hard and cursed her name. I cursed the day I had met her and the day I was first inside her. But I cursed my lack of self-control most of all.

My last class of the day was a recitation for my multivariable calculus class. As soon as I walked into the small classroom, I spotted her and froze. Her hair was in a tight ponytail, she had little glasses on, and her clothes actually covered her gorgeous tits and tanned legs, but it was Sookie. She was the TA for my calculus class. I didn't even know she went to NYU.

I slipped into the back row, my heart thundering in my chest, my hands shaking, and just watched her, waiting for her to notice me. I knew the instant she did because her cheeks turned pink and she stumbled over her words. I smiled and my stomach flipped when our eyes met.

She did an admirable job teaching the class, only glancing my way once or twice. I wanted to rip her sensible dress off and bend her over her desk but I sat and listened to her speak math. That made me impossibly hard. To hear all those words come out of that mouth that I had tasted—damn. Every time she said 'integration' I wanted to groan.

She came around through all the desks to help the students and slipped me a note that I hadn't even seen her write.

_Stay after class to see the teacher. You've been naughty._

I did groan then, and had to cover it with a cough. I couldn't wait for class to end. As soon as everyone else left, she locked the door and just stood there with her back against it, staring at me, her chest heaving. My heart beat wildly again and my breath sped up.

"You're really here?" she said, barely above a whisper.

"I am. Are you a grad student here?" My quavering voice betrayed my desperate desire to be in her arms.

"Yes. I am so stupid," she said, "We could have...Eric, I'm so sorry!"

"Don't be. Sometimes we all need to be someone else for a while."

She walked toward me then, her gaze steady on mine, her eyes intense and heated.

"I love you," she breathed and if I wasn't entirely focused on her, I would have missed it she said it so softly.

I closed the distance between us with two long strides and picked her up, hugging her fiercely to my chest. "I love you, too," I said before crushing my lips to hers in a kiss that nearly brought me to my knees.


	2. Chapter 2

**Guard My Heart is part two of this story and is told from Sookie's POV. Enjoy! I don't know how long this will stay up since the first part is flagged or something but you can always find it on victoryintrouble dot wordpress dot com. It even has lovely visuals there.**

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Devastated. That's how I felt at the beginning of the summer. That's how I had been feeling since May 7, when Hadley overdosed and died in my arms on her bedroom floor. I had been frantic when I found her there, covered in vomit and unresponsive. I had no idea how to help her so I had just held her as I waited for the ambulance to get to us. But it was too late. I wasn't there for her because I had spent the night fucking an old flame who would never and had never cared for me. But I was weak and couldn't say no whenever we would happen upon each other at a bar or a party. My weakness killed my cousin, Hadley. Something that still haunted me when I went to stay with my parents at the beach house they rented for the summer. Something that haunted me as I took a lifeguard training class and got a job on the beach. It haunted me when the tall, beautiful boy took an interest in me. I did not deserve to be happy and I was always so mean to him because I didn't want to get close to him.

It's not like he was an angel. He was kind of a jerk. He was arrogant and annoying and said rude things to me. But, god, was he gorgeous. And tall. He was head and shoulders above everyone else. He was kind of like a little boy in the way he always tried to get a rise out of me. Saying things about sex or my body, blowing his goddamn whistle for every imagined infraction. He was a big annoying stupid beautiful boy. And I wanted everything and nothing to do with him.

I know he was surprised when I asked him if he wanted me to fuck him so he would leave me alone. I don't know why I said that. Shock value maybe? Because it was so opposite of something the real me would say? I was just so done that day. I wanted to be left alone and he wanted to talk. I guess I should have stayed in my lifeguard tower but it was way too hot. And my skin was starting to get crispy despite my religious use of sunscreen. I wanted golden skin not lobster red.

I knew I was risking having to interact with him but he didn't seem to cope well with my silence. I could tell it made him really uncomfortable and he kept trying to start conversations with me. So when he just wouldn't let it go, I snapped and hurt his feelings. And when he looked at me with his piercing ocean blue eyes that were brimming with hurt and confusion, I tamped down my distress at my hurtful words and just kept on being a bitch. In some way it felt good to just unleash my anger on him. To do and say whatever the hell I wanted and consequences be damned. He was right about what he said to me. I didn't bother to get to know anyone. I couldn't. That would mean someone would get to know me and I couldn't let that happen. I didn't talk to him for a long time after that. Mostly because I didn't know what to say. I couldn't become his friend. I was too messed up for that. So we just didn't talk. I'm sure he thought I hated him. I hated myself.

Then that boy almost drowned. I saw him and Eric and I worked together to get him safely onto the shore. Even though he was okay by the time the paramedics left with him, I was back in my apartment with my dying cousin in my arms not able to do a fucking thing to help her. The boy lived but my Hadley died. I knew I needed to get up from the sand. I knew everything was fine and I was supposed to be too but I couldn't. And then sweet Eric sat with me and put his strong arm around me and made me feel better. Just his presence, his touch, soothed the ache in my heart like nothing previously had. I let him drive me home and when we got to my house, I felt like I couldn't be alone. If I was alone for one more minute, I would collapse screaming onto the ground and never get up. So I asked him to come in with me. I brought him some beer and was surprised to find out he was only nineteen. A baby. And he was so sweet to me, I could tell he was concerned about me and he didn't want me to drink too much.

In that moment I needed him. I needed to feel his skin on mine and his big arms wrapped around me. Like nothing else I had ever felt, I craved him. And because I was not Sookie Stackhouse—cousin killer, but Sookie Stackhouse—cold bitch, I went for it. I threw myself at him and shoved my tongue in his mouth. He was stunned. It took him a second but he started moving with me and his lips were like a magic pill, I felt instantly better. I could feel him getting hard and I knew I was dealing with a large specimen. When I rubbed him, his whole body went rigid as he tried to get more friction for his erection. But then he stopped moving his lips against mine and I felt his body tense and pull back. I needed him, though, so I pleaded with him to stay and not to deny me this. I pulled off his shorts and sucked him into my mouth and he moaned and tossed his head back. When he told me to stop so he didn't climax, I had the urge to make sure he was not a virgin. I did not want to do this to a virgin. I knew I was using him as a balm for my pathetic existence and I did not want that to be his first experience with sex. Maybe I still had a few scruples.

Old Sookie would never, not in a million years, have unprotected sex with a stranger. I knew nothing of his history and even though I was on birth control, he could have given me any disease known to man. I just honestly did not care at that point. If I got herpes or gonorrhea I felt like I would have deserved it. But as soon as he entered my body, I started to regret it. Both what I was doing to him and to myself. I told him to cum so that I didn't leave him hanging—even I was not that big of a bitch—but he surprised me by wanted me to cum first. Why did he have to be a considerate lover? That just made everything harder. If he was a jerk during sex, things would have been so much easier. Instead, he was good. He was excellent, actually. He commanded my body like no other and brought me to a powerful orgasm. And when it was time for his, I let him cum inside me. So fucking stupid but I did because he was just so lovely and considerate.

And then I crushed him when I told him to leave. But I couldn't risk starting to like him. I couldn't risk him starting to like me so I hurled insults at him, basically calling him a whore even though I had seen no evidence of it. I knew girls flirted shamelessly with him but even though I had never seen him pay them much attention, I still accused him of fucking them. He was hurt and angry and he yelled at me as he covered his beautiful body. I ran upstairs, puked, and then fell into bed sobbing. I heard his car door slam after a minutes or so and it made me cry even harder because of the force behind it. I had hurt him. I just kept seeing his face. For the rest of the night the hurt behind his eyes haunted me. He invaded my nightmares. So then it was Hadley dying all over again and Eric, his face twisting into rage as he told me how worthless I was and how I deserved to be dead instead of Hadley.

So why would I, just one week later, push him up against the wall in the lifeguard locker room and let him fuck me? Because I couldn't get him out of my mind. The way his cock filled me, the way he commanded my body, his roaming fingers and his soft insistent lips. I needed more and I couldn't deny it any longer. I told myself it could be a summer fling. I wouldn't let myself get attached to him. I would take what I needed from his gorgeous body and we would go our separate ways at the end of the summer. So he wouldn't get attached, I still barely spoke to him. I barely let him speak to me without telling him to shut up. I didn't want him questioning things or asking me for more than I could give him. I was a bitch and it needed to stay that way. But his body, his huge magnificent cock—_that_, I needed. I had never been so easily brought to orgasm by anyone. Not that I had a ton of experience but the bastard who I couldn't let go of never made me cum that easily. Not that I think a man has to be huge to satisfy a woman but somehow Eric, in his nineteen years, had managed to have both the sizeable boat and the motion of the ocean to go with it. And he was always ready and willing even if he hated himself afterwards.

It occasionally got to me when he would look at me with hurt in his blue eyes. When he would seem ashamed of himself after we fucked in my car or against the wall. But I put it aside and pretended I was the girl with no feelings. The girl who only wanted his dick and nothing else. Because the truth was, if I opened myself up and let myself feel, I would fall right back into the deep despair that I felt until I closed myself off. I just couldn't do it. I couldn't cry anymore, couldn't lie in bed all day and eat nothing, couldn't ignore all my friends and family and wallow in my guilt. I needed to be someone else. I needed to pretend I was just an uncaring bitch. I fucked that beautiful blonde boy more times than I could count. And I knew he wanted more. I could see it in his fervid eyes and hear it in his desperate voice but I had to deny him. He deserved more than me. He would forget all about me in a while. He was gorgeous and sweet; he would find someone else to be better to him than I could be. He just needed to let me go. And I would eventually let him go. I would forget about his broad shoulders and sculpted chest, his full dark lips and his beautiful cock. But I knew I would always remember his kind eyes and lopsided smile, his warm embrace and tender touch. It wasn't fair what I was doing to him but it was all that I could give him.

I could tell he was getting attached to me more and more. I caught him just looking at me many times. I caught his wistful sighs and his soulful eyes. His eyes were beautiful and they changed with his mood. When he was playful, they sparkled like the noonday sun glinting off of the bright blue ocean. When he was mad, they raged like a stormy sea, turning bluish grey. And when he was lustful, his eyes grew dark, like the ocean at midnight under a crescent moon. I always looked into those eyes as he brought me to orgasm and I always saw reflected all the passion I felt in that moment. Those were the moments when I wanted to shout his name and cling desperately to his huge body and ask him to never let me go. In his arms was the only place I felt alive all summer. When he brought me to such heights, every single time, and then I did the same for him. I flew when I was with him, only to crash into the earth as soon as we parted.

So the day that I forgot myself as I looked into those blue depths and I caressed his beautiful face in the sweet way I had been longing to, was also the last day I was sweet to him. He looked too hopeful. Those eyes turned to me with too much feeling and I couldn't let him think that we had a chance together. I was a mess, a broken mess of a girl who did not need to burden another with my problems. They were mine to deal with alone. That's why when he asked me in his desperate whisper what we were doing together, I told him the truth—just sex. That's all that I could offer him.

We continued to have sex any time we could and I knew he was disgusted with himself that he could never say no to me. So it wasn't a surprise when he told me he was done. But what did surprise me was the sheer desperation and open vulnerability in his face when he asked why. Why did I choose him, why did I want nothing more, why did I never speak to him. There were a lot of questions he could have been asking. But I knew he wanted to know what he meant to me. I couldn't tell him. I couldn't tell him that I felt whole and alive only in his arms, couldn't say that his warm embrace was often the only thing that didn't feel numb to me all day. That anticipating another romp with him got me through my lonely nights when all I did was cry and think about my cousin and how I failed her. I couldn't tell him that his kind eyes and sweet face kept me from wanting to join her many times. I could never say any of that to him so what I told him—that he had a beautiful cock—while true, was also cruel. But still, I wasn't prepared for him to be so angry at me. I snapped and lost my temper but anger was better than pain.

I sat with him again the next Monday, not to torture him, but because I needed to be close to him. His presence was the only thing that filled up the emptiness inside me. Sitting next to him, I could almost feel the energy coming off him. He was so tightly wound that I didn't want to push him but when he turned to me and asked why I was there, I didn't know what to say. I had no idea I was so good at pretending. I was a world class bitch to that sweet boy.

After that, I avoided him for two weeks until summer was over. Our boss threw a party on the beach and as we sat around the bonfire drinking, I felt like I needed to come clean to Eric. So I told him about my cousin and I apologized for being mean to him. At first he was still angry but his anger abated when my tears fell and he held me and let me cry on him. I always knew he was sweet but he showed me so much comfort that night and I was even sorrier for treating him so badly all summer.

We made love for the rest of the night. I can't say that having sex in a car is the greatest but with Eric, it was still magical and wonderful. We kissed and cuddled and talked throughout the night. When it got so late that I could barely keep my eyes open, we had to say our reluctant goodbyes.

"Will I ever see you again?" he asked, looking intently into my eyes.

"I don't think so, Eric. We both have other lives. It's possible if you come back next summer, I could come visit you. My parents want to stay here again."

He looked so hopeful but then the hope left his face, replaced by a longing that made my heart clench. "Next summer is a long time to wait," he said.

"I don't want you to wait. We need to move on. But I will never forget you. You helped me more than you will ever know."

"I didn't do anything. Not anything great."

"You did. I know the situation wasn't ideal but just your presence made me hurt less, Eric. There is something about you...I...hope I didn't hurt you too much."

"I'll be okay," he said, in a voice that said anything but.

I kissed him, pouring all my sorrow and affection into his mouth. When we broke apart, he lay his cheek against mine and breathed slowly for a long time. I let him stay close for as long as he wanted.

"Goodbye, Eric," I said as he walked away.

"Be happy," he said.

I sobbed as I drove home, which is not that easy to do. I went to bed still crying. I cried all morning as I packed my car and drove back to my apartment. I dreaded being without Eric as much as I dreaded being back where my cousin died. I had to stay, though. My lease was not up for another few months and finding an affordable apartment in New York City was almost impossible.

As school started, I went through the motions of my life and my classes but my heart was not in it. I ached for Eric—for his gentle arms and his gracious smile, for his deep voice and depthless eyes. I realized then, that as he was moving in my body all summer, he somehow moved into my heart. I was in love with him and I could not have him. My life was so fucked. I felt empty, much like my apartment.

But everything changed when that tall beautiful boy walked back into my life—and my calculus class. To say I was shocked to see him was the understatement of the millennium. I'm surprised I could even hold class for the rest of the period. I dropped him a silly note so that he would stay after class to talk to me. Not that with the way he was staring heatedly at me, I thought he would leave. I could not wait to talk to him. His eyes, as they looked at me, reminded me of everything I loved about him. His gaze brought me back to life.

After class, I had to tell him how I felt about him. Even if he didn't feel the same, after treating him so badly for the entire summer, I owed it to him to tell him how much he meant to me. But he said it back! He fell in love with me too. And there we were, living in the same city, attending school in the same place. We could have had a real relationship all summer if I wasn't so broken. If I had gotten to know him.

He grabbed me and kissed me and never in my life had I been the recipient of so much passion. We ended up on our knees together, our lips heatedly meeting again and again. I let my hands roam across his broad chest and down his rippled abs, so happy to get to touch that beautiful body again. He moaned into my mouth and threaded his fingers into my hair. I always loved the way he took charge of our kisses, tugging my head where he wanted it.

"I can't believe you're here," he panted as he pulled back a little bit. He put both of his giant hands on my face and looked at me for a second before I couldn't stand the distance anymore. I pushed forward to meet his lips again and he pulled my body in to his as he stood to his feet. He lifted me then, like he always had and he pushed me against the wall. His hand wandered down my body but I didn't want it to be like this.

"No," I said.

"I need you," he breathed.

"Not like this, Eric. We've done this too many times."

"Okay, what do you want?" He was struggling to keep his hands to himself and I appreciated his restraint even though I could tell it was costing him.

"I want you to make love to me. Can you meet me at my place later?"

"Now," he panted. "Please. I can't let you go right now."

His eyes were pleading with me but I couldn't. "I have to meet my professor right now. In fact I'm going to be late, Eric. Give me your phone."

He put me on the floor and reached into his pocket for his phone. I put my number in it and then called my phone so I would have his number.

"I will call you as soon as I can. I'm so sorry to do this to you but my professor is the one who holds my future in his hands. I can't flake on him. Not even for someone as pretty as you," I smirked, trying to lighten the mood. He looked at me without smiling back. I was not making him happy right then and I did feel awful but truthfully I should have left right after class.

After one more kiss, I tore myself away from him and left. He stood there watching as I walked out and my heart wrenched at the tortured look on his face.

As soon as I was done for the day, I called him. He answered even before a full ring sounded and his voice made my stomach flip around.

"Sookie!" he said breathlessly, "Where are you? I need to see you."

"Come to my apartment, Eric. You can stay the night."

I gave him my address and he said he was getting into a taxi in five minutes. That meant I had twenty minutes to get ready for him. I decided to dress up for him to make it a special night. I took a very quick shower without washing my hair and put on a little sundress like I always wore when he saw me. I dusted on some blush and eye shadow since I still had a nice summer glow and didn't need much make-up. And then I paced. I don't know why I was nervous. I wasn't like we hadn't done this many times. This felt different though. This felt special in a way that the previous times had not. Luckily Eric got to my apartment before I had time to thoroughly freak myself out.

"Hi," I breathed when I opened the door. His lips immediately came crashing into mine and he walked me backward with his hands on my face. He kicked the door closed and I finally gathered my whits.

"Eric," I said, when he let me pull back for a second. "Let's slow down, Eric. We've never had slow."

"Slow," he said and then he smiled. He kissed me sweetly. "Slow is good."

We stood smiling at each other as the air seemed to crackle between us, and then the charge ignited us and our lips collided again. His hands were everywhere and mine were just as bold. Forget slow. I needed him like air right then. I tore at his shirt, undoing his buttons, until he threw it off and then my hands went right for the fly of his jeans. I needed him naked. I wanted to see his entire gorgeous body. I longed to lick every exposed inch of his glorious skin. As soon as I had his pants undone, I pushed them down his slim hips and he kicked them off. His boxers were of the skin tight variety and damn did that bulge make me salivate.

"You," he panted when I just stood greedily taking him in. "Take off your clothes please, Sookie. I want to see you."

Well, since he asked so nicely. I undressed faster than I ever had in my life. He didn't need the seduction of a slow strip tease. He was quite obviously ready to go.

"You are so beautiful," he whispered, stepping forward to put his arms around me. His warm embrace caused a flash flood of memories to cascade into my mind and I could not control the tears that sprang from my eyes or the sobs that wrenched from my throat.

"What's wrong? Did I do something wrong? Do you not want this?" he fired at me with worried eyes.

"No!" I sobbed, trying to reassure him but since I could only get out that one word, he was anything but. He let me go and backed up quickly with a look of bewilderment on his sweet face.

"I'm sorry! I thought..."

"No, I do want this! I'm just a mess, Eric. I'm sorry. I want this more than anything."

"Okay," he said, stepping towards me again. "It's okay. Shh."

He held me and rocked his body from side to side until I got myself under control. What did I ever do to deserve this sweet man? He was much too nice to a girl who fucked him over so completely for three straight months. I could feel him against my belly and even though he was hard and dressed only in his boxers, he made no move to start anything. He just gently swayed and shushed me while I sobbed against his shoulder. I placed my palms flat against his back, feeling his muscles move under my hands as he stroked my hair.

Once my sobs stopped, I looked up to his face and what I saw in his eyes made me want to cry all over again. He looked at me with so much love that I had the urge to touch the face that gazed at me so tenderly. I caressed his brow and his soft lips and he closed his eyes and brought his forehead down to mine. I tilted my face up to touch his lips with mine and as they pressed together, he lifted me into his arms. He carried me like a lover carries his bride as our lips caressed each other.

"Where's your bed?" he whispered in my ear. He ghosted his lips down my jaw and back to my mouth. I pointed to my room and he walked us there.

He laid me softly down onto the bed and crawled up next to me. He lay with one leg on top of mine and he turned my face towards him with a gentle hand on my chin.

"I love you, Sookie. I've loved you for a long time. I never thought I'd get to do this with you. I want to make love to you. And I know we didn't discuss it before...I'm clean but I will do whatever you want."

He looked eager and so happy to be with me and I felt the same. "We'll do what we always do," I said with a smile. I needed his skin on mine with nothing in the way.

"Good," he said. "I need to feel you." He leaned towards me and put his hand on my face so that his fingers rested on my neck and tilted my face up to meet his lips. "I need to taste you. I've thought about it for so long. Please."

His lips whispered down my neck and he sucked lightly on my clavicle before dipping his face to the swells of my breasts. His mouth followed the curve of my bra, gliding gently across my skin as he removed it. The tender caress of his lips caused goosebumps to cover my body and I shivered in response. He crawled backward down my body as his mouth sweetly traced my curves. He ended with his lips right above the waist of my panties and he looked up and met my eyes. "Please," he said again. I was virtually panting by then, so ready to feel him in whatever way he wanted to touch me.

"Yes," I breathed and lifted my hips so he could slide my panties down.

Eric pulled my panties all the way off and ran his hands softly up my legs as he sat back on his knees. "You are beautiful," he whispered, his eyes never leaving my lower half. He looked up to my face. "I love your blush," he murmured.

Eric was being so slow, so sweet and reverent, that it felt like our first time together. It was certainly how our first time should have been and I appreciated his need not to rush. He was perfect and magnificent and I hated myself for not letting us have this during the summer.

As he took his time gliding his lips along my leg and up to my heated center, I watched his face turn from awe to pure lust. His chest rumbled as he growled right before he pushed my legs open and lowered his mouth between my thighs.

"Ohh," I breathed as my back arched at the first touch of his tongue. His tongue was flat and soft as he licked me. He took his time, his eyes closed, as he seemed to savor every moment that he tasted me. A delicious heat built in my body and the fire soon consumed me. I took hold of his hair and put my heels onto his rippling back. He growled again, using his thick fingers to increase my pleasure. Fire raged in my body and his name, which had been a hallowed chant running through my mind, became first a whispered praise and then a shouted exaltation. He lapped lazily at me while I descended from the heavens and smiled up at me when I looked down at him with wonder.

"You taste just as good as I dreamed you would," he said huskily as he lay down next to me once more.

I grabbed his face and kissed him hard and he pushed my head back as he started to climb on top of me. He settled himself between my legs as he continued to lick and nibble my lips and neck. He still wore his boxers but I could feel him straining against the wet fabric. He rocked his hips into mine, rubbing his considerable erection against my waiting core.

"I want you inside me," I whispered, squeezing his muscular backside in my palms. He had the most delicious ass of any man I'd ever known. He whimpered as I pushed his shaft more firmly against my body. I slipped my hands into his boxers and pushed them down off of his ass and then slid my hands around front to uncover the length of him that was making me feel so good. He hissed as he felt my bare skin on his and reached an arm around to pull his boxers completely off.

"I can't believe this is real," he murmured, more to himself than to me. He pushed up onto his elbows and I lined him up with my entrance. He never once took his eyes off of mine as he slid into me slowly. He kept his body close to mine and as he thrust unhurriedly into me, he let his lips roam gently over my face and neck. He lovingly pushed my hair back from my face and as much as he could, he looked into my eyes. He connected with me on an almost spiritual level, as if his soul was crying out for mine and as I looked back at him, I truly understood what it meant to 'be one.'

Eric's moans picked up along with his hips and even though he was still gentle, he moved with more urgency. I held onto his shoulders and wrapped my legs around his waist as he rocked his hips into me. The new angle meant he was rubbing over just the right spot with every thrust and soon I felt the most wonderful wave of pleasure course through my body. I tossed my head back and Eric immediately latched his perfect mouth onto my neck. The pleasure swelled higher and higher until my body convulsed with the most powerful orgasm I had ever felt. I gasped and clawed at his back and his rhythm never faltered. He fastened his lips onto mine and swallowed my cries of pleasure as I spasmed around him.

"Beautiful," he whispered as his eyes pierced mine with steadfast intensity. His fervent eyes held mine in thrall and I could not look away as his face, made more beautiful by his rapture, transformed with his orgasm. His eyes rolled up and his mouth opened as he panted and moaned. He thrust fast and hard into me and finally, he reared his head back and let loose an animalistic roar that vibrated his chest and mine. He collapsed onto me, sweaty and gasping for breath. I put my arms around him and let his soft hair slip through my fingers as he recovered.

In a few minutes he lifted his face to mine and kissed me sweetly and the outpouring of his love that I could feel in the kiss made me cry again. He wiped my tears and kissed my face.

"Don't cry, Sookie," he said. "When I saw you again it was like a dream and suddenly my heart felt right again. I promise you that if you give me your heart, I will take care of it. I will stand sentry around it and no hurt will get through. I will love you and cherish you until I die or you don't want me anymore."

I cried harder, hearing his words, until the stricken look on his face made me laugh. And then we laughed together and made love again and again for the rest of the night.

Now, as I hold our first baby in my arms, it is he who has tears streaming down his face. These are happy tears as he gazes upon his daughter's face for the first time. He is completely awestruck, as am I. She is Eric in a little package and she, like her father, is beautiful. She is my heart now, and I know he will guard her and keep her safe as he has done for me all these years.

The End


End file.
